Happy 2014 (a few months late)

Happy February, belated Valentine's Day, belated New Years, Christmas, etc.

Life around here has been hectic and I've been forced to focus more on my grad school studies & spending time with my family than spending quality time with my sewing machine. I've been taking a double load of classes every semester in an effort to finish grad school as fast as humanly possible...which has taken up quite a lot of time in the day during which I usually would be sewing. This little break from sewing has made me think about what really matters in life. I've been loving the chance I've had the past few months to soak up some quality time with my husband while he has the time on the weekends and evenings. Since residency will start soon, I have to take advantage of all the free time possible! We've managed to get away from everything for a little while -- whether it was to the sunny beaches of Florida or the ski slopes of West Virginia and just enjoy being together.

I am a huge goal setter, and I get into the whole New Years Resolution thing. However, this year I am trying to take it slow, and just live in the moment, so I tried to restrain my resolution/goal setting tendencies back in January. So while there are tons of things I would like to get accomplished this year I have decided to just focus on being happy and making memories. So if as I sit down to my sewing machine to finally finish a project and my husband randomly asks if I want to go camping, the answer will be yes and sewing will get put on hold. With that said, however, sewing does make me extremely happy and I foresee much more time spent in my studio in the near future.

Before I step foot in my studio today though, I think I will venture outside and play in the snow.

So, what makes you happy?

Simple & Modern Baby Quilt Tutorial

This month, Kristy at Hopeful Threads and my lovely friend Melissa from SewBitterSweet Designs are teaming up to run a baby love drive of quilts and blankets to be delivered to the local Children's Hospital NICU & PICU. This is a cause that is very dear to my heart as I have spent countless hours in a Children's Hospital during my lifetime. It can be scary to be in a place with loud machines, needles and strangers walking in and out of your room on a continual basis. Providing a small quilt for these patients not only provides comfort and some sense of normalcy to an awful situation for the children, but also comforts the family as well. This token of love gives the patients & their families strength they need to deal with their medical problems.

Anyway, as part of this drive I have written a very easy and modern baby quilt tutorial that measures at 44x44 which is perfect for the PICU and can easily be altered to a smaller size for the NICU. Even if you choose not to follow my pattern, I hope that you take a few hours out of your schedule this month and make a handmade blanket for the children who have to spend their holidays in the hospital instead of playing at home with their families and friends.

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Supplies:

2/3 yard light peach fabric

1 yard dark peach fabric

3/4 yard light gray fabric

3/4 yard dark gray fabric 

Cutting Instructions:

From light peach fabric:

(3) strips 1.5" x width of fabric 

(2) squares 5.75" x 5.75"

From dark peach fabric:

(3) strips 1.5" x width of fabric 

(3) squares 5.75" x 5.75"

Instructions

1. Sew 6 strips of fabric together lengthwise, alternating between light and dark peach. Be sure to press with seams open. Cut into (5) 5.75" x 5.75" squares.

2. Make half square triangles by placing 1 solid piece of light peach fabric & 1 striped square on top of each other right sides together. Draw a line diagonally down the middle of the peach square & sew 1/4" on both side of the lines. Cut on the drawn line.

3. Press each square. Repeat for all of solid squares.

4. Assemble squares in groups of four as shown & sew.

5. Sew blocks together as shown.

6. Place borders. Be creative -- this is an excellent opportunity to use your scraps and make the quilt to whatever size you so desire - improv is the name of the game! 

7. Quilt & bind as desired.

Viola! Finished quilt in under 2 hours!

Update via Instagram

Do you instagram? If so, I'd love to follow you. I find it is a fun and quick way to stay updated with our friends and stay connected with the sewing community. Follow me on instagram @PurplePandaQuilts

Studying in a box & other things

I apologize for my absence on this lovely blog but my summer semester is coming to an end and I have been quite busy studying for finals & writing research papers.

I am so focused on my work that I even study in a box while my husband lovingly puts together a new chair for me to use in the office. Surprisingly, it was quite comfortable and I had everything I needed for a successful study session: snacks, water, pillows, sticky notes, books (lots of books) & colorful pens.

I am hoping to finish everything soon and be able to have some time to sew & share all the new projects I have been working on. In the meantime, here is a picture of some fabric I ordered the other day while on a study break...I couldn't pass up Brenda's awesome golden ticket deal over at Pink Castle Fabrics. There are so many fun collections coming out, I think I will reward myself with another purchase once I finish up the semester...

what fabric line are you currently most excited about?